Chronic administration of lithium chloride appears to prevent the development of supersensitivity in the dopaminergic and alpha- and beta-adrenergic central nervous system pathways. While acute administration of lithium has not been found to influence dopamine receptors, chronic administration was found to decrease binding of (3H)spiroperidol by almost 50% in the caudate nucleus if the animals were sacrificed immediately after the termination of treatment. Chronic lithium treatment was also found to decrease the binding of (3H)QNB in the striatum but not in other brain regions indicating an influence on the muscarinic cholinergic receptors at least in some regions of the brain.